Suspect in killing of pregnant fiscal arrested

MANILA, Philippines — The suspect in the killing of the pregnant Office of the Ombudsman prosecutor is now in the hands of the Philippine National Police.

According to a report by News5, the assailant was identified as Angelito Galvez Avenido Jr. He was arrested by police in Culiat, Quezon City on Monday.

Avenido is being investigated for allegedly stabbing to death Assistant Special Prosecutor Madonna Joy Ednaco-Tanyag on Monday morning.

Found in Avenido’s possession are the pouch, identification card and cellphone of the victim.

READ: Pregnant fiscal stabbed dead in Quezon City

Tanyag, a prosecutor handling mostly graft cases at the ombudsman, was stabbed in broad daylight along Visayas Avenue.

The five months pregnant prosecutor was rushed to the East Avenue Medical Center but passed away an hour later.

Police are looking into robbery as one of the possible motives for the crime.

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales urged the police to “thoroughly investigate” Tanyag’s case.

Tanyag is the 10th state prosecutor attacked under the Duterte administration. The first attack was in October 2016 when Mati City Prosecutor Rolando Acido was shot dead by unidentified men just outside the city’s Hall of Justice.

Tanyag’s killing comes weeks after Ozamiz City Prosecutor Geronimo Marabe Jr. was shot dead by four identified men in Ozamiz City, Misamis Occidental. — Kristine Joy Patag